BREAKING: SCOTUS EXPANDS RELIGIOUS-LIBERTY AND MINISTERIAL-EXCEPTION PROTECTIONS IN 7-2 DECISIONS ON LITTLE SISTERS, DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS. “The Supreme Court wanted to end their 2019-20 with a bang — and dropped two Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch this morning. On two 7-2 votes, the court upheld free-exercise claims in religious liberty, the more notable of which came in the long-standing fight by the Little Sisters of the Poor against the HHS contraception mandate. Clarence Thomas wrote the majority decision, while Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.”
Archive for 2020
July 8, 2020
THIS JUST IN: British court rules against Christopher Steele, orders damages paid to businessmen named in dossier. JustTheNews.com reporting that:
A British judge ruled Wednesday that Christopher Steele violated a data privacy law by failing to check the accuracy of information in his infamous dossier, ordering the former spy’s firm to pay damages to two businessmen he wrongly accused of making illicit payments in Russia.
The interesting part?
“The ruling involves a long-discredited claim in Steele’s dossier – repeatedly used by U.S. news media – that Russia’s Alfa Bank, connected to Aven and Fridman, was transmitting secret messages between Moscow and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. The FBI concluded the computer pings were not nefarious messages but rather routine behavior most likely connected to email spam. Special Counsel Robert Mueller told Congress last year he did not believe the allegations.”
And there are still people who believe the whole Russia hoax.
What would we do without analysts?
MARQUETTE CLAIMS TO BE A NONPARTISAN EDUCATIONAL ENTITY FOR TAX PURPOSES, RIGHT? Marquette University threatened to rescind student’s admission over pro-Trump TikTok video.
Pfefferle’s post has been watched nearly 600,000 times and has since caught the attention of the Marquette community, some of whom began harassing Pfefferle. Others threatened her life.
“I hope you get shot,” one commenter told Pfefferle. “I’d pray for you but you’re not worth it,” another user added.
“I was extremely disappointed by the incendiary comments,” Pfefferle told The College Fix in an interview. “The response from my peers has been repulsive.”
Pfefferle explained that following the TikTok, she was contacted by Brian Troyer, dean of undergraduate admissions at Marquette, who she said told her her acceptance to the school was far from certain.
“[He] had the heart to tell me I wasn’t a student,” Pfefferle said. “This means that my classification is still in limbo and is currently being decided by the administration. I have been accepted, I paid for my housing, I have my roommates, I even have a complete class schedule. If that doesn’t make me a student, what does?”
Some Marquette administrators also asked Pfefferle a series of questions meant to judge her morals, she said.
Marquette University President Michael Lovell needs to be questioned as to whether he thinks this behavior toward a student is appropriate.
IF THIS IS THE STATE OF AMERICAN PUBLIC DISCOURSE TODAY, WE’RE DOOMED: Ami Horowitz tries to have a rational conversation based on facts about Black Lives Matter with D.C. protestors. As Ami warns at the outset, it didn’t go well.
THIS IS JUST CAMOUFLAGE. THE PROBLEM ISN’T THE NAME, IT’S THE MISSION. China rebrands Confucius Institutes in effort to quell global backlash.
HMM: China Imposes Limits on Large Transactions After Bank Runs. “The People’s Bank of China this month kicked off a pilot plan in Hebei province that would require retail and business clients to pre-report any large withdrawals or deposits, according to a statement. The two-year program will be expanded to Zhejiang and Shenzhen in October, encompassing more than 70 million people. Chinese lenders are facing a surge in bad debt with the economy set to expand at the slowest pace in four decades. Authorities stepped in last month to halt banks runs at two local lenders in Hebei and Shanxi. That comes on top of an already shaky situation last year, which saw China bail out and seize several struggling banks.”
I INCREASINGLY THINK WE ARE LIVING IN SUPERMAN’S BIZARRO WORLD: Re the below, note (1) that New York Times journalist Farnaz Fassihi is, for lack of better terminology, white/Caucasian; (2) she is criticizing white people, from which she inexplicably implicitly exempts herself, for weighing in on diversity, etc.; (3) the article she links to quite explicitly states that the letter in question was initiated by an African American man; and (4) thus, by her own logic, she is barred from weighing in. This is today’s New York Times–lies, deceit, and some very convenient claims of victim status to shut up anyone not fully marching in the woke parade.
UPDATE: As for privilege, from Fassihi’s Wikipedia bio: “Her great-great grandmother is said to be Taj Saltaneh Qajar, the most notable daughter of Naser al-Din Shah, who ruled over Iran from 1848 to 1896.”
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEF: Cancel Culture Almost Canceled Itself on Tuesday Then Canceled That Idea. “It’s Christmas in July! We’re going to have conversations and cancel culture is about to be canceled by people on the side of cancel culture! OK, I did feel super awkward about being on the same side as Chomsky — I kind of wanted a Silkwood shower — but, not to worry, the Kumbaya moment didn’t last long. No sooner had the news about the Harpers article begun to get a lot of attention than many of the enlightened co-signatories decided that some of the company were too icky for them to be associated with.”
A LESSON FROM SOUTHERN AFRICA IN OBSERVING CONSTITUTIONAL PROCESS: Malawi shows the world wow to fix a crooked election, avoid anarchy and keep the peace. It’s a complex story, with twists and turns. But the thugs fail to intimidate — and they lose.
MA DEUCE TARGET PRACTICE: A U.S. Army 1st Cavalry Division soldier fires a M2 .50-caliber heavy-machine gun from a M88 Recovery Vehicle during a gunnery exercise at the 7th Army Training Command’s Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany.
CYBERSECURITY: Over 100 Wi-Fi routers fail major security test — protect yourself now. “Not a single model passed a security examination, including D-Link, Linsksys and Netgear.”
On the advice of a friend in the industry, I switched to Ubiquiti’s UniFi line of network gear a few years ago and have been impressed with their security, performance, and frequent updates.
HE’S NOT WRONG: Biden Admits Obama Was A Failure As President.
SPACE: NASA Teases ‘Psyche,’ A Robot To Explore An Asteroid Worth More Than Our Global Economy. “The metals that make-up this one-of-a-kind asteroid could, according to some, be worth $10,000 quadrillion.”
Being able to manufacture in space with metals already outside the Earth’s gravity well is priceless.
THEN MAYBE IT’S TIME TO LET GO OF THE HATE: Angel investor Jason Calacanis says he hates Trump but president’s small business loan program worked.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: YEAR ZERO. “Segregation will doom this revolution. It is the worst poison in a multiracial society. Yet it is the signature issue of Black Lives Matter — everything from separate safe spaces and theme houses based on skin color in universities to specials fees and rules for non-blacks.”
THIS APPEARS TO BE TRUE FOR MOST OF THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT IN GENERAL: Colin Kaepernick said it himself: His kneeling was meant to disrespect our nation itself. “Ex-quarterback Colin Kaepernick tweeted an Independence Day message reminding us that he always was a radical leftist, America-hating agitator. His national anthem stunt always was about deliberately dishonoring flag and country. Oh, and NFL superstar Drew Brees merits an apology from all those who criticized his original, thoughtful statement about why he would always stand for the anthem.”
